On this day, in 1939,
Ralph Kwiatkowski was born in Buffalo, New York. He would later change his
last name to Kent because then, according to him, people would at least be able
to pronounce it. As a child, Ralph fell in love with all things Disney the moment
he saw Pinocchio. He wrote to Walt once and asked him for a job. Walt even wrote
back, explaining that he didn’t have any positions open for an eight year old
but if Ralph kept studying and working on his drawing skills, something might
open up in the future.
So Ralph followed Walt’s advice, eventually graduating from
the Allbright Art School in Buffalo in 1960. He then enlisted in the Army and
worked on training films, illustrating the aids that went with them. After an
honorable discharge two years later, he headed straight for Southern California
to see if anything had opened up. To his delight, something had and, in 1963,
Ralph became a marketing production artist for Disneyland.
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| Image copyright Disney |
One of Ralph’s first big projects was to design the training
materials for all four of the Disney built attractions that took the 1964
World’s Fair by storm. Over the next several years, he created promotional
pieces for new attractions like the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise.
He also designed merchandise like souvenier books for Pirates of the Caribbean
and a Christmas ornament for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. One of his proudest pieces,
and something that has become quite a collector’s item, is a Mickey Mouse watch
he worked up that Walt gave out to the company’s top executives in 1965.
In 1971, Ralph moved to Florida and began working his magic
for all things Walt Disney World. He would eventually become the director of
Walt Disney Imagineering East. One of the biggest influences he had on Disney
characters, especially the core group known as the Fab Five, was his
tirelessness in making sure they were always drawn the same way. Ralph was also
in charge of developing the characters signatures. For a long time, he was one
of only a handful of people authorized to sign for Mickey Mouse. Obviously that
group has expanded quite a bit since the beginning, but the emphasis on
consistency stems from him.
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| Image courtesy Etsy.com |
Along the way, Ralph gained the nickname “The Keeper of the
Mouse.” When it came to the Big Cheese, he was fiercely protective of his
image. Even though Mickey started out as a prankster and, frankly, a
mischievous pain in the butt, over the years he evolved into the saint-like
character he is today. Ralph took preserving the shine of Mickey’s halo very
seriously. He was highly selective of the kinds of merchandise the Mouse could
appear on. Neckties, t-shirts and hats were great. Shot glasses and bras were
definitely not. And as long as Ralph was around, that’s how it would be. Which
is why we can almost pinpoint when Ralph was no longer in charge of those
decisions. It was the moment Mickey shot glasses and underwear began to be
available for sale.
Ralph first ended his
career with Disney in 1985. Outside of the company, he still freelanced as a
designer. Two of his most notable characters are the mascots for the Buffalo
Bills, Billy Buffalo, and the Florida Marlins, Billy the Marlin. He couldn’t
stay away from his first love forever though. In 1990, he returned to Disney as
an artist trainer, eventually becoming a corporate trainer with the Disney
Design Group. For his final retirement in 2004, Ralph was named an official
Disney Legend and given his own window above Casey's on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. He would pass away on September 17, 2007 in his Kissimmee,
Florida home after battling esophageal cancer. He was 68.
